City Attorney Puts the Kibosh on Parking Apps

City Attorney say founders of Sweetch and other parking apps have not found the sweet spot of parking.

By Lydia Chávez

City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued an immediate cease-and-desist demand Monday to Sweetch and Monkey Parking, a mobile peer-to-peer bidding app that allows drivers to auction off the public parking spaces their vehicles occupy to other drivers.

The app, Herrera’s office said today in a press release, violates a “key provision” of the city’s police code that prohibits “companies form buying selling or leasing public on-street parking.”

Today’s decision also impacts other parking apps – including Sweetch, which allows drivers to earn money by selling their spots to nearby drivers for a fee of $5 – from continuing to operate. CARMAnation, another app, charges a $2 fee for renting out a private parking spot and will not be affected by the ban. READ MORE